CH 33

Chapter 33: Kill The Chicken To Scare The Monkey.

Edited by: Mochiusagi 

"We are just servants of the Zhao Family. We have nothing to do with them, so why is it that Zhao Fang colluding with the demons have anything to do with not allowing us to leave?!"

"That's right, why shouldn't we be allowed to leave?!"

The people looked at the Officials, who drew their weapons. Although they had a look of fear on their faces, they were more frantic.

They were not stupid. Since Zhao Fang had colluded with the demons, the Zhao Family was as good as dead.

If they did not leave now, they would not be able to in the future.

They were not part of the Zhao Family, so why must they accompany the Zhao Family to death?

Hong Cheng, who was talking with Shen Changqing not too far away, saw this scene and his expression changed.

"Excuse me, Lord Shen!"

He hurriedly said, as he immediately walked towards the scene.

"Quiet!"

With an angry rebuke, the place suddenly quieted down.

The Officials bowed their heads and greeted, "Constable Hong!"

Hong Cheng nodded slightly, then directed his gaze towards the servants. His face was cold and stern: "The Demon Suppression Division has given orders. No one within the Zhao Family residence can leave! I do not care whether you are from the direct line of the Zhao Family or a stranger, but until the Zhao Family's verdict comes, you have to stay put."

"Whoever dares to escape, only has death waiting for them!"

The leader of the servants was a sturdy-looking, middle-aged man. He said: "Constable Hong, we knew very well how much of a crime it is to collude with the demons..."

"But we have nothing to do with the Zhao Family. If you want to kill the Zhao Family, we are not part of it, and we can leave."

"Yeah, we must leave today!"

"Staying here is akin to waiting for death. Since we might end up dying here, we might as well fight and have hope of escaping!"

"Yes, yes--"

The others loudly echoed.

Hong Cheng's face instantly darkened.

The strength of the Lin'an City government office was not strong. The total number of Officials just added up to a dozen or twenty people.

In addition to the manpower they delegated guarding the entrance of the Zhao Family residence, they also needed to put people to guard the Zhao Family's courtyard wall, in case someone tried to escape that way.

Meaning, they had limited manpower here and against these crazed people, whose number was greater than theirs, they wouldn't be able to stop them.

Just when Hong Cheng was in a difficult situation, Shen Changqing came over.

"Lord Shen!"

"Greetings, Lord Shen!"

How could the Officials not be familiar with Shen Changqing? Upon seeing him, they panicked, immediately bowing and saluted.

Shen Changqing waved his hand slightly and dismissed them: "All of you, back away."

"Eh, yes!"

The Officials were stunned, but still obediently retreated.

After the Officials retreated, Shen Changqing unsheathed his sword as he held it in his hand, the tip pointing to the ground. He then imbued the sword with Pure Yang True Qi and made a forceful slash to the ground.

A sword mark was then presented in front of everyone.

After all this, Shen Changqing re-sheathed the sword.

"The order to blockade the Zhao Family was issued by me. Before the verdict of the Zhao Family comes, no one can leave the Zhao Family's premises. I don't care if you are servants of the Zhao Family or have no connection to the Zhao Family. No one is allowed to cross this line!"

Shen Changqing's tone was cold, which sent chills to people's hearts.

"The Lord is being too domineering!" After some silence, the (leader) man's face said with an ugly expression.

Shen Changqing closed his mouth and did not say anything.

Everything suddenly froze.

That simple sword strike was the difference between life and death for these people.

After a while, someone finally couldn't help himself and rallied.

"Don't listen to his nonsense, I don't believe he would really dare to kill us. If we don't leave now, we will die sooner or later!" Someone shouted loudly from the crowd.

As soon as this person finished speaking, Shen Changqing took a step forward and dashed to the front. He unsheathed the sword at his waist and then–

[Plop~]...

A head flew up, along with a large amount of blood that gushed out from the person's neck. Seeing this gruesome scene, everyone's face changed greatly.

They thought that only if they stepped out of the range of the sword mark, they wouldn’t be killed.

But that person did not move and just shouted, then he got beheaded.

Such a ruthless approach!

The remaining people felt their insides churn.

Shen Changqing gripped the sword, that was still dripping with blood and coldly swept his gaze towards them: "Who dares to say one more word, will receive the same fate. Don't make me lose my patience, all of you better get back inside."

"Otherwise, prepare to die!"

At those words, the rest of the servants turned pale. Under the force of Shen Changqing’s gaze, they wretchedly retreated.

Unlike Hong Cheng and other Officials, who would only verbally intimidate them, Shen Changqing would honor his words with actions. 

Intimidation might be effective at most times, but life and death will instill fear into them.

Soon, the servants finally retreated and only a headless corpse was lying on the ground, blood flowing on the ground.

Shen Changqing sheathed his sword and looked to the side, where the frozen Hong Cheng was: "Constable Hong, from now on, if anyone opens the door of the Zhao Family residence and walks out, don't entertain such nonsense. Just kill them."

"If anything goes wrong, I, Shen Changqing, will bear the burden."

"But remember, if the Zhao Family does not escape, you can't just rush in and break the rules!"

Zhao Fang colluding with the demons was not false.

There were not many laws in Great Qin, but every one of them pertained to a serious crime.

Hearing Shen Changqing's words, all of the Officials, including Hong Cheng, looked solemn.

"Lord Shen, don't worry, this humble servant and others know what to do!"

"That would be best."

Shen Changqing looked sideways at Hong Cheng: "If there is any problem with the Zhao Family, you can come to me at any time. In addition, if there is trouble in Lin'an City and the Government Office can't solve it, you can also come to me."

"I'll be over at the inn for the time being, I won't go anywhere else."

"Yes!"

Hong Cheng was relieved in his heart.

Shen Changqing's words undoubtedly gave him a lot of pressure.

Seeing Shen Changqing leave, Hong Cheng cupped his hand and bid farewell, "Take care Lord Shen!"

After Shen Changqing disappeared from his sight, Hong Cheng said to the remaining people, "You heard what Lord Shen said. Clean up the corpse immediately, and if anyone comes out of the Zhao Family residence again, tell them to retreat immediately."

"If there are still people who refuse to listen, then kill!"

When he said the word "kill", Hong Cheng's eyes also contained killing intent.

Although he could not do what Shen Changqing did, killing so decisively and sharply, he was not a person who was afraid of trouble.

Especially after Zhao Fang's death. There were some dark waves churning in Lin'an City.

Although the signs were not very obvious, Hong Cheng had been in Lin'an City for so many years, how could he not detect the changes?

When the servants heard this, they respectfully followed the orders and began cleaning up the corpse on the ground.